Wipers

TomHanlon

It looks like the winter took its toll on my wipers, so I want to get new and better ones . I have used bosch wipers on my Jeep and they seem to work great. I just mesured the ones on the PC and they are both 20 inches. I am thinking of using 20 inch on the passengers side as the current ones rest near the edge of the windshield. I am thinking of going to 22 inch on the drivers side in order to clear more area. Any comments on doing this would be helpfull. What brands do you use?

In-General, the only concern I have with installing wiper blades a little longer is what I experienced with another vehicle. The longer wiper blade got very close to the top of the windshield. In the winter, when ice formed on the wiper blades while driving, the ice would hit the paintwork above the glass. I heard it hitting with every swipe. I was worried it would eventually damage the paint so I replaced them back to the standard size.

If the Ford E350/E450 windshield has plenty of room for a longer blade (2" more is not a lot), I'd say you'll be fine.

I still have the original blades on our 2007 PC....Yikes!Last trip and all was still well. I assume it's because the blades have been outdoors less than 5 months total. I did clean them once already with lacquer thinner.

I replaced my wipers with 22" blades last season and they are fine. Since the motor home is stored in the Pole barn they do not weather. I had 20" and replaced them with the 22". Can't remember the brand but they work fine and clear a large area. Looking forward to getting the MH out and getting it ready for the season. Hooray for Spring.

I use the round foam insulation for water pipes to cover my blades when stored. It already has a slit in it, cut to size and place over your blades. Keeps them out of the weather and extends their life. Bob

Logged

Pax

I was hoping someone here had tried the PIAA Super Silicone wiper blades. They are apparently used extensively by autocross and off road racing teams, as well as trucking companies. The blades are silicone and come with a silicone application package (sort of like a Rain-X application). They are very well reviewed, but pricey ($20-$30 each). The replacement blades are around $8. Since friends and family seem to have a hard time finding birthday presents for me I think I'll put these on my wish list and give them a test run.

Mike, we look forward to your future reviews on the wipers. Now if you want to really make gift giving difficult, go full time. Our family had to get really creative trying to figure out what to give people that live in a motor home. Our rule is: Consumables - gift cards for Cracker Barrel and other national chains, food we can open at the gift giving event and share, etc. The most creative was an awesome homemade cream/salve. THAT got a spot on board even though it is in a glass jar. Some things you just make exceptions for. If you plan to go full time sometime later, make that wish list now. We bought a ton of stuff to outfit our new home. If we had thought it through and planned early enough, we would have had an Amazon wish list for everyone to look at and possibly received some of our RV gear as gifts (instead of the very nice gifts we got that are in storage).

I use the round foam insulation for water pipes to cover my blades when stored. It already has a slit in it, cut to size and place over your blades. Keeps them out of the weather and extends their life. Bob

That is an interesting idea.

I had thought if our rig was stored outdoors, I'd remove the wiper arm assemblies. They do come off in a flash. They have a little metal release lever at the base of the arm. Just pull it away and lift the assembly right off the rotating stem.

Pax

Ron: I had to smack my forehead when I read your recommendation for removing the blades. So simple, free....and it will remind me to clean the blades since they will already be in my hand!

Holly: If we enjoy this year on the road as much as we hope we will, we might be crazy enough to put ourselves in a position where our families say, "you're gonna do WHAT??" We use Amazon wish lists too and have racked up a bunch of Camping World gift cards that way. Funny you mention Cracker Barrel. We don't have any around where we live and haven't been to but one, many years ago, but friends gave us a bunch of Cracker Barrel roadmaps to help plan out general routes for our trips and by the looks of it there must be as many Cracker Barrels as there are Starbucks out here.

Back to the subject of wipers though. It's amazing that they haven't change much at all throughout the history of automobiles. Such important pieces of gear, especially in the daily torrential hour-long downpours in places like Florida in the summer. Looking at all the reviews, the Bosch and the RainX Latitude seem to top the popularity lists, along with the OEM varieties.

- Mike

Logged

TomHanlon

I went to Walmart this morning and looked at the wipers. The book by Walmart showes 22" blades for the 2012 E450. Bosch Icon comes in an A (drivers side) and an B (passengers side) in order to conform to the curve of the windshield. They are made to form to the windshield better than the old style with the six feet that came on the Ford. They did cost $18 each. They are the same as I put on my Jeep and those work really well. The 22" is not a problem on either side.